EP 1977130 B1 shows a shifting device of this type. The shifting device has a coupling element which is rotatably supported on the shaft relative to the shaft. The coupling element should be rotatably fixedly connected to the shaft via the shifting collar upon engagement of a gear and be able to rotate again relative to the shaft upon changing gears. For this purpose, the shifting collar is situated on the shaft in an axially shiftable and rotatably fixed manner and therefore is shiftably supported on a hub which is fixedly connected to the shaft.
The rotatably fixed, detachable connection between the shifting collar and the coupling element is implemented with the aid of tooth engagement. For this purpose, a coupling toothing, which corresponds to a mating toothing on the shifting collar, is provided on the coupling element. The teeth of the toothings and the tooth gaps are longitudinally oriented, so that when a gear is engaged, the teeth of the mating toothing are insertable into the tooth gaps of the coupling toothing until the teeth of the toothings are alternately opposite each other in the circumferential direction and are thus rotatably fixedly coupled. An electromagnetic actuator system for actuating the shifting collar or an annular element of the actuator system surrounds the shifting collar on the circumferential side, so that the shifting device may have a very compact design.
Coupling elements may be, for example, gear wheels, so-called idler gears, on which the coupling toothing is provided directly. Alternatively the coupling elements are coupling members having the coupling toothing which are rotatably fixedly coupled with a gear wheel.
The installation space required by a shifting device of this type is dependent on the radial and axial dimensions of the coupling element and the shifting collar. The dimensions of the electromagnetic actuator are dependent on the forces needed for shifting. The installation space required by the shifting device is therefore essentially also influenced by the size of the actuator system and may therefore be large if a great deal of power is required.